Teachers on Fire

KRISTIN HUNDT is a devoted wife and mother of four boys, a 6th grade teacher, lifelong learner, and global citizen. Her passions include genius hour, project-based learning, the outdoor classroom, the 40 book challenge, and student voice. In our conversation, Kristin talks about her drive to provide good reading materials for her students. An engaged reader herself, she advocates for student voice and choice, genius hour, going gradeless, standards-based feedback, and revision of work. Kristin also shares some awesome recommendations for books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, and much more. Kristin was recently featured in The PBL Playbook by AJ Juliani. Check out that title on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2noKqQM. Follow Kristin! TW: https://twitter.com/KMHundt Blog 1: www.voicechoiceandpaperairplanes.com (education) Blog 2: www.theluckiestnomatterwhat.blogspot.com (parenting) Visit https://teachersonfire.net/ for more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links.

CJ REYNOLDS is better known by his YouTube channel, Real Rap with Reynolds, where he talks teaching, relationships, and life. As a passionate educator and creator, his two truths in teaching are #1 Relationships Are King, and #2 It's Only Ever About the Students. In this episode, CJ recalls the fatigue he faced as a rookie teacher and discusses the importance of learning to say no to some things. He talks about how a project with his son turned into a YouTube presence with over 13,000 subscribers, and the tremendous opportunities that the internet allows teachers and students today in terms of global connections and collaboration. He also shares about personal passions outside of the classroom, his morning routine, and much more. Check out Real Rap with Reynolds on YouTube HERE: https://bit.ly/2vm711T. Follow CJ! TW: https://twitter.com/realrapreynolds IG: https://www.instagram.com/realrapwithreynolds/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/realrapwithreynolds/ https://teachersonfire.net/

JOHN SOWASH is an educator, freelancer, presenter, husband, and dad. He is also the author of The Chromebook Classroom, which you can check out at http://chrmbook.com. In this conversation, John describes how a dead end in his high school context launched him into the business of teaching teachers - a true passion. You’ll hear him explain why the Chromebook is so much more than just a web browser - it’s a creation tool as well. You’ll also hear about the personal habit that keeps him on track, some great edtech tools to consider using, and much more. Check out The Chromebook Classroom on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2O34vap Follow John! TW: https://twitter.com/jrsowash IG: https://www.instagram.com/jrsowash/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/chromebookclassroom YT: https://www.youtube.com/user/jrsowash WWW1: http://electriceducator.blogspot.com/ WWW2: https://www.chrmbook.com/ WWW3: https://www.geducator.com/ Visit www.TeachersOnFire.net for links and notes on this episode.

DAN JONES is a 7th and 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher in Mansfield, OH. He is the K-12 Editor for Flipped Learning Review Magazine and the author of Flipped 3.0 Project Based Learning: An Insanely Simple Guide. In this conversation, Dan tells us about the time his passion for teaching died and he almost quit the profession entirely. Instead, he Googled “new and innovative teaching practices” and stumbled across the flipped classroom, which set him on a journey of transformation. Dan also tells us about a personal passion that energizes him, a habit that contributes to his success, and recommends some amazing resources for educators. Check out Flipped 3.0 Project Based Learning: An Insanely Simple Guide on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2K0Vzjy Follow Dan ... TW: https://twitter.com/ideasforteacher IG: https://www.instagram.com/ideasforteachers/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/mrjonesflippedclassroom/ WWW: https://flippedtrainer.weebly.com/ Visit TeachersOnFire.net for more info!

Andi McNair is a keynote speaker and trainer specializing in edtech, genius hour, and innovation in education. She is also the co-founder of #makeithappenEDU and the author of Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry. In this conversation, Andi describes the low moment in her classroom that changed it all for her - when she realized her learners were completely disengaged and she knew she needed to reimagine her practice. Thanks to some inspiring education leaders, she began a journey of passion-based learning and has never looked back. Andi also tells us why it’s a great time to be an educator and shares some great recommendations for books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, and more. Check out Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2uR037B Follow Andi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mcnairan3 and on the web at http://www.andimcnair.com/. Visit TeachersOnFire.net for more info!

Joy Kirr is a 7th Grade ELA teacher in Elk Grove, Illinois. She writes at http://geniushour.blogspot.com/ and in 2017 published Shift This!: How to Implement Gradual Changes for MASSIVE Impact in Your Classroom. In this conversation, Joy takes us to a moment when a parent criticized her publicly with “Genius Hour is crazy - and all the parents think so!” She shares what she learned from that experience and how it has changed her communication going forward. Joy describes the main message of her book, Shift This, which puts the focus on student-directed learning opportunities. She also points us toward a Twitter account to follow, an edtech tool that she is enjoying, and more. Check out Shift This! on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2O4rsL8 Follow Joy online: TW: https://twitter.com/JoyKirr IG: https://www.instagram.com/joykirr1/ Web: http://geniushour.blogspot.com/ FOLLOW Teachers on Fire on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeachersOnFire VISIT https://teachersonfire.net/ for more info!

Sarah Johnson is an author, speaker, and consultant in the areas of instructional leadership and personal-professional balance. With experience as an English teacher and principal, she likes to laugh, sing, and makes a habit of running every day. She is a co-author of Balance Like a Pirate: Going Beyond Work-Life Balance to Ignite Passion and Thrive as an Educator. Her mission? Helping Educators Thrive at Work, Home, and Life. In this conversation, Sarah describes the main message and heart of her book, which describes her experience and the lessons she’s learned from living out of balance as a school principal. She talks about the personal passions and practices that support her self-care and growth today, and offers some great recommendations for books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, and more. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahSaJohnson & @BalanceLAP, on Instagram @SarahSaJohnson, and on Voxer @sarahsajohnson.

Bryon Carpenter is a high school teacher at the Abbotsford Virtual School in Abbotsford, BC, Canada. As a trained scientist, passionate creator, and lifelong learner, Bryon serves in the spaces of library, math, science, and ADST (Applied Design and Skills Technologies). Bryon’s passion? Seeing teachers utilize new technologies to advance student learning and help them represent their learning in new and creative ways. Outside of education, Bryon is passionate about fishing and woodworking, and he credits daily journaling as a key to his personal and professional success. Bryon also points us toward a Twitter account to follow, a podcast to check out, a title to add to our book lists, and much more. Follow Bryon on Twitter @BryonCar, on Instagram @Bryon.Carpenter, and visit his blog at http://bryoncarpenter.com/. VISIT TeachersOnFire.net for more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links.

Jeff Bradbury has been recognized as an ASCD Emerging Leader, Google Certified Teacher and Trainer, and digital innovator. The founder of TeacherCast.net, Jeff has spoken at TEDx and other conferences, provides training and consulting for educators across the United States, and currently produces ten regular educational podcasts. Simply put, there aren’t many people in the world producing more resources for educators than Jeff. In this episode, Jeff talks podcasting, ISTE, funding models for content creators, the Twitter algorithm, how to build a PLN, learning management systems, personal branding, and more. When it comes to creating education content, Jeff advises, make it from a place of personal passion and you'll never get bored. Follow Jeff on Twitter @TeacherCast, visit TeacherCast.net to access all of Jeff’s podcasts and instructional resources, and subscribe to Jeff’s Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/TeacherCast.

Jeff Gargas is the COO/Co-founder of Progressive Mastery Learning and The Teach Better Team. Jeff works with teachers across the United States to help them improve their practice and “reach the unreachable student.” An entrepreneur at heart, Jeff shares about the challenges of hitting walls in the music industry and the educational training space. He shares how he redefined his mission, finding strength in gratitude and the knowledge that as long as he was doing the right thing for learners, the rest would follow. Today, Jeff loves nothing better than to see teachers learn, grow, and take risks to improve their practice. In our conversation, he points to an app that reliably corrects his mindset, recommends some great Twitter accounts to follow, and more. Follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffGargas & @TheGridMethod, and check out the great resources he offers teachers at TeachBetter.com, TeachBetterAcademy.com, and www.facebook.com/thegridmethod. For more info, visit TeachersOnFire.net.